# US 12,109,462 B2 · Golf club heads having a localized heat affected zone > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,109,462 B2 - Document ID: US12109462B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 18/086,223 - Filed: 2022-12-21 - Published: 2023-04-27 - Granted: 2024-10-08 - Earliest claimed: 2019-09-13 - Assignees: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation - Applicants: Karsten Manufacturing Corporation - Inventors: Matthew W. Simone; Eric J. Morales; Ryan M. Stokke - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12109462B2 ## CPC - A63B 53/0445: {Details of grooves or the like on the impact surface} - A63B 53/0408: {characterised by specific dimensions, e.g. thickness} - A63B 53/0466: {wood-type} - A63B 60/42: Devices for measuring, verifying, correcting or customising the inherent characteristics of golf clubs, bats, rackets or the like, e.g. measuring the maximum torque a batting shaft can withstand - A63B 2209/00: Characteristics of used materials - A63B 2225/64: Heated - A63B: APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT (apparatus for passive exercising, massage A61H) ## Abstract A golf club head having localized heat treatment is described herein. Other embodiments are disclosed. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A golf club head comprising: a faceplate and a body, the body comprising a sole, a crown, a heel end, and a toe end; wherein: the sole is in a ground plane at address; the crown is opposite the sole; the heel end is opposite the toe end and perpendicular to the sole and the crown; the faceplate comprises a geometric center that is equidistant from the crown and the sole, and equidistant from the heel end and the toe end; and the faceplate defines a loft plane, wherein the loft plane intersects the ground plane and is tangent to the geometric center; the faceplate further comprises a region defined by a reference shape having a height and a width; wherein: the reference shape extends toward the crown and the toe end from the geometric center; a reference shape height is approximately 25% of a total height of the faceplate, measured within the loft plane, in a crown-to-sole direction; a reference shape width is approximately 25% of a total width of the faceplate, measured perpendicularly to the loft plane, in a heel end-to-toe end direction; the reference shape further comprises a threshold characteristic time value, and within the reference shape, one or more locations comprise a characteristic time value; and the faceplate further comprises a first heat affected zone at or near the one or more locations, each heat affected zone location comprising a characteristic time value, wherein; the first heat affected zone comprises a spot weld comprising a diameter less than approximately 0.75 inch, and the first heat affected zone comprises a diameter less than approximately 50% of the diameter of the spot weld; and a physical grain structure of the first heat affected zone is a dendrite microstructure. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the geometric center of the faceplate further defines an origin for a coordinate system having an X′ axis and a Y′ axis, wherein: the X′ axis extends through the geometric center of the faceplate in a direction from the heel end to the toe end of the golf club head; the Y′ axis extends through the geometric center of the faceplate in a direction from the crown to the sole of the golf club head and perpendicular to the X′ axis to form four faceplate quadrant regions including a center-to-high toe quadrant; and the reference shape is a linear reference shape that extends from the geometric center of the faceplate and bounded in only the center-to-high toe quadrant. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The golf club head of claim 2, wherein the linear reference shape is angled relative to the X′ axis between approximately 20 degrees and approximately 80 degrees. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The golf club head of claim 3, wherein the linear reference shape is angled relative to the X′ axis between approximately 45 degrees and approximately 50 degrees. ### Claim 5 (depends on 2) The golf club head of claim 2, wherein along the linear reference shape, at least the first heat affected zone, a second heat affected zone, a third heat affected zone, and a fourth heat affected zone is present and wherein the first, second, third, and fourth heat affected zones have a microstructure different than the microstructure of non-heat affected faceplate regions. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The golf club head of claim 5, wherein the microstructure of the first, second, third, and fourth heat affected zones are needle-like or finger like structures that comprise smaller grain boundaries than the microstructure of non-heat affected faceplate regions. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The golf club head of claim 1, wherein the first heat affected zone covers no more than 16.5% of an external faceplate surface area. ### Claim 8 (depends on 5) The golf club head of claim 5, wherein the first heat affected zone, the second heat affected zone, the third heat affected zone, and the fourth heat affected zone are substantially co-linear to one another. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The golf club head of claim 8, wherein the first heat affected zone, the second heat affected zone, the third heat affected zone, and the fourth heat affected zones are not present at any location along the faceplate to body transition region. ### Claim 10 A golf club head comprising: a faceplate and a body, the body comprising a sole, a crown, a heel end, and a toe end; wherein: the sole is in a ground plane at address; the crown is opposite the sole; the heel end is opposite the toe end and perpendicular to the sole and the crown; the faceplate comprises a geometric center that is equidistant from the crown and the sole, and equidistant from the heel end and the toe end; and the faceplate defines a loft plane, wherein the loft plane intersects the ground plane and is tangent to the geometric center; the faceplate comprises a region defined by a reference shape having a height and a width; wherein: the reference shape extends toward the crown and the toe end from the geometric center; a reference shape height is between approximately 5% and approximately 50% of a total height of the faceplate, measured within the loft plane, in a crown-to-sole direction; a reference shape width is between approximately 5% and approximately 50% of a total width of the faceplate, measured perpendicularly to the loft plane, in a heel end-to-toe end direction; the reference shape further comprises a threshold characteristic time value, and within the reference shape, one or more locations comprise a characteristic time value; and a first heat affected zone at or near the one or more locations, each heat affected zone location comprising a characteristic time value; the first heat affected zone comprises a spot weld comprising a diameter less than approximately 0.75 inch, and the first heat affected zone comprises a diameter less than approximately 50% of the diameter of the spot weld; and a physical grain structure of the first heat affected zone is a dendrite microstructure. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The golf club head of claim 10, wherein the geometric center of the faceplate further defines an origin for a coordinate system having an X′ axis and a Y′ axis, wherein: the X′ axis extends through the geometric center of the faceplate in a direction from the heel end to the toe end of the golf club head; the Y′ axis extends through the geometric center of the faceplate in a direction from the crown to the sole of the golf club head and perpendicular to the X′ axis to form four faceplate quadrant regions including a center-to-high toe quadrant; and the reference shape is a linear reference shape that extends from the geometric center of the faceplate and bounded in only the center-to-high toe quadrant. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The golf club head of claim 11, wherein the linear reference shape is angled relative to the X′ axis between approximately 20 degrees and approximately 80 degrees. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The golf club head of claim 12, wherein the linear reference shape is angled relative to the X′ axis between approximately 45 degrees and approximately 50 degrees. ### Claim 14 (depends on 11) The golf club head of claim 11, wherein along the linear reference shape, at least the first heat affected zone, a second heat affected zone, a third heat affected zone, and a fourth heat affected zone is present and wherein the first, second, third, and fourth heat affected zones have a microstructure different than the microstructure of non-heat affected faceplate regions. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The golf club head of claim 14, wherein the microstructure of the heat affected zones are needle-like or finger like structures and form smaller grain boundaries than the microstructure of non-heat affected faceplate regions. ### Claim 16 (depends on 10) The golf club head of claim 10, wherein the first heat affected zone covers no more than 16.5% of an external faceplate surface area. ### Claim 17 (depends on 14) The golf club head of claim 14, wherein the first heat affected zone, the second heat affected zone, the third heat affected zone, and the fourth heat affected zones are co-linear to one another. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The golf club head of claim 17, wherein the first heat affected zone, the second heat affected zone, the third heat affected zone, and the fourth heat affected zones are not present at any location along the faceplate to body transition region. ### Claim 19 (depends on 10) The golf club head of claim 10, wherein the spot weld comprises a diameter less than approximately 0.70 inch, and the first heat affected zone comprises a diameter less than approximately 45% of the diameter of the spot weld. ### Claim 20 (depends on 10) The golf club head of claim 10, wherein the spot weld comprises a diameter less than approximately 0.65 inch, and the first heat affected zone comprises a diameter less than approximately 40% of the diameter of the spot weld.